How is Degenerative Disk Disease (DDD) diagnosed and treated?
Degenerative disk disease (DDD) of the spine may cause stiffness, local pain, and radiation of pain into an extremity depending if a nerve root is affected. Most patients will present with low back or neck pain. Diagnosis is made both clinically though history and physical exam, and via Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Primary management for DDD is non-operative and includes nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and exercise programs to strengthen core musculature in the abdomen and spine. The most common interventional pain management technique used for radiating pain caused by DDD is the epidural steroid injection. Surgical intervention may be an option when non-operative management has failed.
